Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Communication Hand Book
Communication Hand Book
COMMUNICATION HANDBOOK
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY
COMMUNICATION HANDBOOK
Edited by:
Alexandra Atepaeva
Debbie Evers
Loes van Gijn
Bianca de Ruiter
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Introduction
The purpose of this Communication Handbook is to assist you in communicating
effectively. It gives clear practical tips per each topic that might be applicable to
your daily communication within the company.
The layout of the Handbook is very simple with an index of topics for quick reference. There are also some pages at the end of the Handbook, which you can use
for your personal notes.
The Handbook is advised to be kept on the work desk for an easy reach when
needed.
For further support and advice on communication you can always contact the
TQM Communication Group in room 1317 (Alexandra Atepaeva, Debbie Evers,
Loes van Gijn, Bianca de Ruiter).
How to
1. Be a good communicator
2. Communicate effectively
3. Listen strategically
4. Win peoples cooperation
5. Negotiate
6. Give feedback
7. Deal with criticism
8. Keep discussions from turning into arguments
9. Resolve conflict
10. Present
11. Use e-mail properly
12. Use voice mail effectively
13. Telephone effectively
14. Use your voice effectively
15. Have an effective meeting
16. Have an effective brainstorming session
17. Final Tips
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Be a Good Communicator
Communicate Effectively
Connect
Listen
Communicate
o Speak with sincerity and conviction.
o Be sensitive to other peoples communication style.
o Know what you want to accomplish. Do you want people to understand your
position? Lend their support? Approve your request?
o Listen at least as much as you talk.
o Attune what you say with how you say it. Keep your message fitting with
your tone of voice, facial expression, and body language.
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Speak
o Project confidence.
o Connect with your audience.
o Know what you want to accomplish. Do you want people to understand your
position? Lend their support? Approve your request?
o Keep it short and simple. Most communication can accomplish only one objective, develop three main points, and hold peoples attention only so long.
o Ask for feedback; was the message understood.
Listen Strategically
We can communicate on one or all of four different levels at any given time:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Facts
Meaning
Feelings
Intention
The house is burning is a simple, straight-forward statement. But those four words
depending on how they are said may mean:
Sometimes we do not understand other people because we are not listening, or we are not
listening well. We are destructed or simply are not paying attention. But sometimes we
do not understand them because we are not hearing what they want to communicate. We
are not listening to the right level. We may hear the facts for example but miss the feelings.
People want to
Convey Information
Your task is to
Your goal is to
People want to
Your task is to
People want to
Your task is to
You need to ask
Your goal is to
People want to
Your task is to
You need to ask
Your goal is to
cate more freely, speaking their mind more openly and listening more attentively.
They will give you the benefit of the doubt and they will want to cooperate.
6. Be open for others ideas.
Do not try to impose your ideas on others only. Listen to and value the ideas of the
people that work for you or with whom you work together. Be open minded and
feel confident with sharing the ideas with others. Even request for new ideas to
gain peoples support and cooperation.
7. Help people believe the change is possible.
People often know, although they will not often admit, that they need to change.
They feel a vague uneasiness, sensing that things will not pan out the way they
want. But they persist in doing what they have always done, thinking they are doing the best they can. Show them a better way, but more importantly convince
them that the change is possible. Do not just give them a solution but offer them
confidence.
8. Time your request well.
There is a time and season for everything, especially for asking for support. When
people are feeling stressed out, anxious, angry, resentful or threatened, they are not
really receptive. Do what you can to reassure them and to make them feel safe, and
you increase your chances of winning their support. Look for moments of influence, times when they feel capable and confident, and make your best case then.
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Negotiate
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Give Feedback
1. Do It Often
Virtually no one thinks they get enough feedback and that is because virtually no
one gives enough.
2. Do Not Be Shy
Give feedback as close to the event it refers to as possible. This way what happened is fresh in everybodys mind and it will be easier to learn from it.
3. Give It Some Meaning
Always provide the context before you give feedback. For example I wanted to
talk to you about the report that you wrote yesterday.
4. Be Specific
Talk about what went well and what could have gone better for the individual or
the team.
5. Describe Actual Behaviors Where Possible
Avoid the infamous feedback sandwich (good-bad-good) it comes across as
untruthful and dilutes the impact of good feedback.
6. Give a Wider Context
Describe the impact it had and on whom. This gives an idea of how important it is.
7. Be Generous with Positive Feedback
With positive feedback describe what it tells you about the individual. There are
not many greater motivators than being told you are a wonderful person.
8. Allow People a Chance to Respond
If they would like time to reflect, let them, and agree to talk about it again at a future date. Do not force people to talk about it though.
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9. Remain Objective
Do not let your personal prejudices get the better of you. Remember you are giving
feedback for the other persons benefit and not to vent your own spleen.
10. Build an Action Plan
With critical feedback make sure there is an agreed way to progress. Find the right
time and place.
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1. Listen Impartially
Not showing any negative or defensive emotions when listening will stop you appearing vulnerable or fragile.
2. Summarize What the Other Person Has Said
This means you have understood them correctly and also that you have taken it all
in.
3. Ask Questions
The more specific the criticism the more helpful. Find out what you did and when
that gave them their impression. This will mean you will not make the same mistake again.
4. Criticism is Rarely Groundless but Often Exaggerated
Decide which elements are useful and what you can do differently to be more effective.
5. Think about How the Person who Criticizes You Looks at the World
Could they have been trying to help? Are they under pressure themselves? Think
about why they have these views about you. This could give you some useful selfawareness.
6. Ask Those Who Criticize You for Their Advice
By making them part of the solution they are less likely to criticise you in the future.
7. Thank People Who Criticize You
Not only have they given you free information but you will also disarm them.
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The only way you can make sure you never loose an argument, to paraphrase Dale Carnegie, is to avoid getting into one in the first place.
In a discussion everyone wins.
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Resolve Conflict
If you view conflict as something that should not happen, something that harms relationships, it becomes negative. And then avoid it and hope it would go away. But if
you see conflict as a fact of life, an opportunity to strengthen relationships, you have a
way to resolving conflict by turning it into something creative.
Try these 10 ways to resolve conflict:
1. Agree on a mutually acceptable time and place to discuss the conflict.
2. State the problem as you see it and list your concerns.
o Make I statements.
o Withhold judgments, accusations, and absolute statements (always or
never).
3. Let the other person have his/her say.
o Do not interrupt or contradict.
o Do not allow name-calling, put-downs, threats, obscenities, yelling or intimidating behavior.
4. Listen and ask questions.
o Ask fact-based questions (who? where? what? when? how?) to make sure
you understand the situation.
o Ask exploratory questions (what if? what are you saying? is this the only solution to your problem? what if did such and such? are there other alternatives to this situation?).
o Avoid accusatory why questions (why are you like that?).
o Use your own words to restate what you think the other person means and
wants.
o Acknowledge persons feelings and perceptions.
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Present
Establish rapport/bond with your audience and they become your partners in a dialog, allies in your presentation. They will want you to succeed. They will overlook your nervousness and lack of polish. And they will give you the benefit of the doubt even if they
lose thread of your logic.
1. Talk to people before your presentation.
Introduce yourself as people begin gathering. Ask them about themselves, what
they do, and why they are there. Smile.
2. Have your audiences best interests at heart.
See your presentation as an opportunity to serve your audience, not to impress or
sell them.
3. Establish eye contact.
Look people in the eye one at a time. Hold each persons gaze for 5 to 10 seconds
and then look someone else in the eye. We distrust people who will not look us in
the eye. A word of caution some cultures consider such eye contact intrusive and
rude.
4. Speak simply and with conviction.
Do not give a speech. Have a conversation with your audience. Say I, we and
you when appropriate.
5. Approach your presentation from your audiences perspective not yours.
Address their concerns. Speak to their interests, values and aspirations. Avoid
words they might not understand. Cite evidence they find credible. If you have to
use words or acronyms they might not understand, explain them immediately.
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Email should be constructed and written so that the intended audience can read, understand and act on the message after the first time they read it.
Be concise and to the point
Do not make an email longer than it needs to be.
Answer all questions and pre-empt further questions
By answering all the questions youll avoid further e-mails, frustration and wasting
time.
Use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation
Make it personal
The content of email should be customized.
Respond quickly
Email implies a quick respond comparing to the written letter, so should be answered at least within 24 hours.
Do not attach unnecessary files
Use proper structure and layout
Use short paragraphs and blank lines in between for easier reading from the screen.
Do not overuse high priority option
When overused it looses its function. Also might come out as aggressive.
Do not write in CAPITALS
IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING
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Watch your emotions when you leave a voice mail message. One way communication can come across much angrier, more hurtful or more self-pitying than intended.
If you need a return call, say when and where you will be available.
Voice mail can be used as a record of communication, in the same way as print.
When leaving a message remember your voice mail is being recorded.
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Telephone Effectively
Be prepared, know what you want to achieve, have a pen and paper at hand.
Speak clearly.
Do not speak too fast or too slow.
Smile people can hear you smile.
Use your first and last names to introduce yourself.
Be confident and positive, genuinely interested and enthusiastic.
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People make judgments about you just by listening to your voice. It isn'
t only the words
you use, but how you say them that can make a difference.
When people see you (face-to-face communication), the impact of your voice is approximately 38% of the overall impression you makethe "picture." Over the phone, it jumps
to 85%since there are no visual cues.
There are certain things you can do to have a more pleasing voice:
Pause
By pausing, you give people enough time to take in what you are saying. When
you finish a thought, think of adding a period (.) by counting to three in your mind.
If it would be a colon (:) , count to two, and if it is a comma (,) , count to one. In
other words, don'
t run your words together.
Eliminate fillers
Avoid "uh," "um," "OK" and "you know."
The power of your voice is the sum of its vocal quality and the words you
choose.
You must not take either for granted to ensure that your speaking formula is a winning combination.
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Brainstorming can be a highly effective technique for maximising a groups creative potential in order to generate ideas and determine which ideas are most likely to succeed.
To run a group brainstorming session effectively, do the following:
1. Organize a brainstorming group of 8-12 people in a relaxed environment.
2. Select a leader and a recorder (they may be the same person), though the recorder
should have an easy to understand hand writing.
3. Define the problem or idea to brainstorm. Write it out concisely and make sure that
everyone understands it and is in agreement with the way it is worded.
4. If the issue is broad, break it down into smaller issues which can be brainstormed
independently.
5. Set a time limit (i.e. 30 minutes) for the brainstorming.
6. Set up the rules for the session. They should include:
o Letting the leader have control of the session;
o Allowing and encouraging everybody to contribute;
o Ensuring that no one will insult, demean, or evaluate another participant or
his/her ideas;
o Stating that no answer is wrong;
o All ideas are welcome no matter how silly or far out they seem;
o Building on others ideas;
o Absolutely no discussion taking place during the brainstorming;
o Recording ALL the answers unless it is a repeat;
o Stopping when the time limit is up.
7. Once the brainstorming starts, participants share their ideas and the facilitator
writes them down preferably so everyone can see them (use a white board or a flipchart).
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8. Keep in mind that most brainstorming sessions feature 2 or 3 false finishes, each
followed by an explosion of new ideas, before the group has really exhausted its
store of information and ideas.
9. Once the brainstorming is finished, write down about five criteria for evaluating
ideas. It might be useful scoring each idea (i.e. 0 to 5) on each criteria in order to
make evaluation.
10.Group the similar ideas together.
11.Eliminate responses that definitely do not fit.
12. Once ideas are narrowed down (i.e. to the top 5), discuss the remaining ideas in
the group.
13. If there is not a clear winner, use a voting method.
14. Keep the record of all the ideas generated in the session even after choosing the
best idea, as it might turn out to be not workable.
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Final Tips
Pay attention to your body language, it can communicate more than you think.
Do not try to get too many messages across. People do not retain more than three
ideas from a presentation or a discussion.
Use face-to-face communication as much as possible as people generally prefer
that type of communication.
Be aware of the danger of misinterpretation or misunderstanding while communicating in a multicultural environment. You can visit
http://www.windowontheworldinc.com/countryprofile/index.html for some useful
tips on different cultures.
Effective communication is timely and open.
Share the thinking not just the conclusion.
If there are no bad news or issues, it does not mean there is nothing to communicate.
Communication is a process not a product (information needs interaction).
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